grrrlpwr, your workout schedule is just fine. Actually, that's very similar to mine and Fern's ... We do AM cardio, go about our day, and on weight training days we weight train at about 6:30 pr 7:00 pm usually ...

it is preferable to eat no meals after 6 pm. if you have to snack prior to bedtime, jello. go 12 hrs. fasting before morning exercise. drink 2 glasses of water. go exercise. eat after workout.
if you eat and workout 90% of the calories burned come from what you ate. if you dont eat before workout. you'll get roughly 40% of the calories from the last meal you ate and stored glycogen, but 60% of cals. from stored bodyfat. military has been doing this for years. 4:30 wake up call, 1 hour of exercise, and stuff, 6 am. breakfast, 12 noon lunch, 5-6 pm dinner. nothing after 6 but water. whats the old saying we do more before 7 am than you do in an entire day. if you have to eat in the morning. wait 3 hrs. after meal. to exercise. make sure you drink water, and take a multivitamin. preferably vitamin b complex around lunchtime.

Great postings.. thanks you guys...

I have to tell you something funny.. I was reading TrainerDan's posts, not really reading the user name but looking at the picture.. and thinking wow.. this woman's (ie now I see her as Trainer Dan's partner -- oops) goal is 200 pounds..she must have some muscle capacity..


Any way.. on to the topic at hand. I just started working out at the gym myself.. and I had this exact question. I woke this morning ready to go.. and wondered if I should eat a little something prior to working out.. I am with Trainer Dan on this one.. I think in exreme cases where someone's workout is incredibly demanding.. th body will begin to draw upon itself.. but for really good solid cardio and light resistant .. I should be ok.. any feedback is greatly appreciated...

Also, have another quick question. I this last year I got really sick, from what was possibly a chemical exposure.. a whole host of immune suppression symptoms. One that has not gone away is tingling in my feet and wondering if this might be related to a vitamin/mineral deficiency or perhaps in the process I put on 40 pounds due to hormone imbalance.. which is now taken care of.. perhaps the pressure on my lower back.. I suppose I could see my chiro.. anyone have any input?

Ramona

well i'm starting something new today...am cardio and then ab bootcamp and the weight lifting about 5pm.....i have more energy about 5pm to lift and enjoy it more then.....so i'll let everyone know how that goes

Thanks Fern and everyone, you got me convinced to do it in the morning, better go to bed now to get up early for my workout!!!! I'll try my dam hardiest hmmmmm 5AM, like I said I will try

Thanks for the interesting informative thread!

I have very low blood pressure, barely any pulse, and my cholesterol is excellent. I have a tendency, in summer and with all forms of exercise (since childhood) to get overheated quickly and dizzy from low blood pressure at times.

I'm having a very difficult time doing cardio in the am before eating, and I've been trying. I even tried with some coffee and/or some ephedra. It only made it worse.

I use a treadmill, sometimes manual mode from 2-4 mph for 1/2 with a cool down pace, or an aerobic pace that is preset.

However, early in the day, if I haven't eaten, I find that I get short on breath, overheated, and dizzy, and on the few occasions I've tried this (usually on weekends since I don't have time on weekdays in the morning) I have had exactly the same results. I just can't do more than a relatively slow 2-2.5 mph walk without negative effects and for only about 15 minutes. Then, after a shower, it still takes me about two hours to cool down, and even after three hours my face is still often red and hot and my temples throbbing.

If I do the treadmill in the evening before dinner, then I am able to go much faster, much longer, and work into a real sweat without the overheating or dizziness. It takes less time to cool down too.

It seems like I need to get some blood sugar up in my siystem in order to do the workout in a meaningful way.

Am I the onlyl one with this problem?

Hi there-

First, I'm really impressed by this board.

I am more an adherent of Lyle McDonald than Dan Duchaine, but there still seems to be a ton of relevant information here for me.

Question - and while I look forward to Trainer Dan's advice on this matter, input from anyone would be appreciated.

I'm 28 years old, 6ft, 2in. I'm currently 170 pounds with between 7.5% and 7% body fat (damn those calipers!). I'm using the CKD with great success so far (I'm one of the lucky ones in that ketosis makes me feel great). I'm on a regimen of supplements, but no heavy-duty witchcraft like pro-hormones or anabolics. My goal is to get to between 5.5% and 6% body fat, and 180 pounds. You can guess what my question is.

My body doesn't seem to completely agree with this idea. It really does not want to drop below 7%. It's wised up to a lot of the things that I was doing, so I'm doing everything from changing my routine to even backing off of cardio for a while, in an effort to put on more muscle mass, thereby 'backdooring' my metabolism into speeding up by increasing the amount of muscle.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to break this fat-loss plateau? Mind you - I've tried an awful lot of things, so any suggestions that are made I might have worked already. I suspect that I'm nearing a point where I'm simply fighting my genetics. Dan, if you don't mind, would you please elaborate on this nic-patch trick that you mentioned? I'm really intrigued.

Thanks, everyone. To be blunt, when I first stumbled onto this forum, I just expected a lot of urban legends and misinformation being traded by gossipy housewives (not that I have anything against housewives, but you know what I mean). Instead, I have found a forum of highly informed and experienced people that have had at least some effect on my thinking (not the least of which, I might add, is to no longer cycle my fat burners - thanks Nat & DrumLib for that). Hope you are all having a great holiday season. ~ Mike

hey Mike,

Since the nicotine trick kinda gets into the gray area of supplementation, and seeing as how it is an OTC drug, I have PMed the info to you.

I tried to PM you, but since you have under 25 posts, it won't let me.

email me at trainer.dan~home.com and I will send the info to you.

I get the same reactions as you, altho strangely, i have HIGH blood pressure! I have always thought my reactions were more due to low blood sugar in the morning. Some mornings I am so dizzy I almost black out before I can make it to the bathroom, so exercising is hardly an option for me in the morning. UNLESS someone has some ideas on how to ''cure'' this.

I just recently started following the steps in the book Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program, where I eat a potato 3 hours after dinner and before bed, but hasn't helped with my morning jitters.

The only time i don't get this way in the morning is when i am NOT exercising regularly. (I will exercise in the evening). I wonder if I need to eat more? But then I also want to lose fat so it seems counterproductive.

I am very open to any suggestions or ideas here as I would just LOVE to burn 300% more calories from a morning walk in this cold Manitoba weather right now!

Guys, I'm new to this and I need some advice. I've been at this for a couple of weeks with good results. I'm in decent cardio condition, but I'm a little worn out after A.M. workouts, which is new but not an issue.

But I shot my mouth off about what a great basketball player I am and now I'm invited to suit them up tomorrow night. Is this wise? I get a lot of exercise--2 miles at a 5 degree incline every day. But hoops is different, and I don't know if I'll have the gas.

Are there any serious health considerations here? I'm 43--no spring chicken, and I haven't played b-ball in a while.

Welcome to the board ... Basketball players are ALWAYS welcomed here ... LOL (Fern and I both play)

To answer your question, you CAN play ball while on low-carbs, but as you suspected, your performance may suffer.

Fern may have more to offer you on this, since I know that she went through a game or two in a low carb state and can tell you exactly how she felt ...

Hmmmm.....

I think everyone is different. I played a couple intense games of basketball during my last CKD. I remember feeling ok during the games but I noticed that my play wasnt 100%. Afterwards, I really felt drained however.

I am no doctor however and I can not tell you whether you should play or not. I would listen to your body and if it feels like you can play, play, if not, don't do anything to jeopardize your health.

Also, a word of caution..... If you are going to shoot your mouth off about being an ace basketball player, you better be able to prove it!!! Ask Dan, he tried that when we first met and I beat him 11-2! LOL

Let us know how the game goes if you decide to play...

I still have to push myself to do my workouts in the mornings when I get up, especially on my working days, however I did manage to struggle to get my a** out of bed (day off work) and do my workout first thing before eating, I have to admit it was hard, but I did feel good all day......I still wait at least 2 hours after my supper to do my workouts if I wait till the evenings, so I guess thats better than nothing.... right now its so hard for me to do a workout first thing in the morning, but I do understand the concept and end results and I think I might get into it more once I read the BFL book, that just might get me more motivated.

I know its late while I post this, I should be in bed sleeping so I can get up early and workout!!!! But this club is so darn addicting! LOL

I'm not as concerned about stinking it up as I am cardiac arrest!

I wish there was an energy supplement that didn't contains rafts of carbs, or something to eat that would provide quick energy.

Say, what about alcohol!?!